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Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Introducing Winnie Griggs

Hi!I’m Winnie Griggs and I get to come out and play here on the 26th of each month.We’re supposed to introduce ourselves to you this month to give you a feel for the person behind the writer, so I thought I’d offer up a series of random facts about who I am and the life I lead. These are arranged in semi-chronological order but other than that there is no real rhyme or reason to them :)

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·I was born on a Friday the 13th and consider 13 to be my lucky number.

·I’m the oldest of 5 siblings, and like most first borns, I'm just the tiniest bit bossy and competitive

·Like just about everyone else here, I’ve been a voracious reader for as far back as I can remember.My favorite books as a young reader were the Trixie Belden books.I wanted to be just like Trixie when I grew up.(Of course I never considered the fact that Trixie herself was not a grown-up)

·I was born and raised in south Louisiana, just across the river from New Orleans.Our family lived in a place my schoolmates considered the back of beyond and they felt like they were doing some serious traveling to come over for a visit.I have memories of standing at the bus stop with my siblings on a couple of different occasions and having snakes slither up out of the nearby ditch to check us out.

·We had a pet squirrell we kept in a cage indoors that we named Squeeky

·Living in the sticks had its perks, however - my siblings and I had lots of great places to explore and spent many an hour roaming the overgrown land around our place - cutting jungle trails, going on archeological digs, building forts and frontier camps, and looking for pirate ships on the nearby bayou.

·I was vice-president of the library club in High School and found the biggest perk of the role to be having first crack at the new books when they came in.

·I love puzzles and word games.My favorite subject in school was algebra because the assignments always felt like fun puzzles to solve.

·I went to an all girls high school and was one of the wallflower-nerd types.But the science teacher took a poll at the end of my junior year to find out who all wanted to take Physics in our senior year.As it turned out only four of us expressed an interest. So rather than offering a class, they decided to ship the four of us to the all boys school down the road for one period a day.For that one year, I became the envy of many of the ‘cool’ girls.

·I majored in Math in college but had no idea what one did with a math degree.I eventually discovered Computer Science in my Sophomore year and added that as a minor (there was no degree in computers at that school back in the dark ages of my university days) - I had found my calling!

·Because I was so terrified of public speaking I actually took 15 hours of a foreign language (Spanish) to avoid taking 6 hours of Speech.These days, though I don’t profess to be the most dynamic speaker, I happily present writing workshops 4-5 times a years at various writing conferences.

·When I graduated from college I got a job as a computer programmer with an electric utility company.And though I received a number of promotions and transferred to a number of other departments over time, I worked for that same company, on the same floor of their headquarters building for the next 35 years.

·I married my college sweetheart and we’ve been living out our own happily ever after for over 35 years.He raises cattle and dabbles in local politics from time to time.Together we’ve raised four now grown children, including a set of twins.All of them are happily living out their own dreams and adventures.

·I was a fan of the TV show Firefly during its first run before it became a phenomenon.

·I’m also a fan of NCIS, but unlike most who watch it for Gibbs or DiNozzo, my favorite character is Ducky.During my teen years (this is really going to date me!) I was a star-struck fan of Illya Kuryakin, a character he played on The Man From U.N.C.L.E.I still see a little bit of Illya whenever I see Ducky.

·And on the writing front, I have 13 books in print and three more contracted for upcoming release.The first five of those were written for a secular publisher and the remainder are with Harlequin’s Love Inspired and Love Inspired Historical lines.

So there’s a quick snapshot.If you’d like to learn more about me or my books, drop on by my website (www.winniegriggs.com) or com back by here on the 26th of each month.I’m very excited about being a part of this group - lots of fabulous ladies and fabulous writers in the lineup and I’m just tickled pink they let me be part of it.

Oh, and for next month’s big open house giveaway, I’ll be giving away a copy of my RT Reviewer’s Choice nominated book, Handpicked Husband, along with a Booklover’s pin.And if you already own a copy of Handpicked Husband, don’t worry, you can substitute a copy of any book in my backlist for that one.

19 comments:

Fascinating, Winnie! I was just telling one of my critique partners that I flunked public speaking my first go and got a D the second. We didn't have the option of taking other classes or else I would have. I did take two years of French (I think) but don't remember a thing.

Hi Christina! And LOL on the public speaking - I was definitely a basket case when it came to getting up in front of a group back then (and don't do a whole lot better now ). But I'm a writing coference junkie and presenting workshops is one of the ways I feed my habit.

Hello Winnie! Nice to meet you. As I was reading your list, I was wondering when you were going to get to the fact that you write. LOL I guess you saved the best for last. I, too, love solving puzzles and the show Firefly. I've never lived in the sticks, but we did have a large field behind our house that grew very tall grass. We used to love going back there and smashing down the grass to make a hideout. It amazes me when I think back on how I was never afraid that I might come across spiders, mice or what not. Today, you'd never catch me roaming through head high grass. Looking forward to more posts from you! God bless.

And your prize for next month? It's a deal! I went to Amazon and the cheapest I could buy a new copy is $232.54 OR I could splurge for the $516.61. I always get a kick out the sellers who let their computers go beserk and drive up everyone else's prices.

Though it was really annoying when the Esther Williams movie I wanted for over a decade was in that price range because it was OP. Thankfully they started putting out DVDs of her old movies and I just had to wait! I think that's why I love ebooks, because OP doesn't necessarily mean I'm out of luck anymore in trying to pick up an OP book.

Hi Melissa! You're right! Except for some reason I could never abide having to diagram sentences, it was my least favorite part of English class - one puzzle I didn't enjoy. And $232.54 for my book - yikes! I'm afraid that seller is doomed to certain disappointment LOL.

Hi Winnie,After Christina's comment wondering if public speaking was a subject at school. I would have flunked. I wasn't and still am not a good reader out loud. I struggle with some words to pronounce them right and need to practice. When I have read out loud I have practiced by reading the piece out loud so many times before the official time. The last time I read in church I vowed never again. I couldn't even see the words on the page. I had it memorized.I have loved the books I have read of yours.

Hi Jenny - and Happy Birthday!! I was the very same way up until about ten years ago - and I still get a bit shaky in the knees when I have to stand up in front of a group - much more comfortable sitting down and speaking! Oh and thanks sooooo much for the kind words about my books!!

Ooh, you don't have to be old to remember Man from U.N.C.L.E!!! My parents shared fond memories about the series for so long, I finally decided to submit an ILL for Season One {last year!}, and we were happily enjoying it, except to say, there are soo many episodes, we didn't have enough hours within the 3 week checkout period to watch them all! :O It was a happy challenge to have, but we decided to wait until either we have more free time OR simply wait to get it on dvd ourselves! :) Laughs. Meanwhile, I was a longtime fan of JAG, yet never *knew!* they spun off the series in NCIS until early 2009, as I needed a fix as I was letting go of L&O {all 3 L&O's!},... when I saw Mark Harmon in the teasers and I sort of had an inkling of what the series was going to be about,... I was all in! So much so, we watched over 45+ episodes through marathons on USA within 90 days!! Laughs. Yes,... we're dedicated! It was a great 'introduction' to David McCallum!! My favourites are: Gibbs, Ducky, Abby, Zvia -- in that order! I'm sort of spilt between Gibbs + Ducky, so its hard to say which one won me over more! Laughs.

I decided to spilt this into two posts, as I was gushing a bit on NCIS! Laughs. Do you watch LA too? After they gutted me with the pilot, it took me half a year to recover,... I'm sort of settled into the pace of it, but I still watch more NCIS over NCIS:LA. I think it would be easier on dvd! :)

I must confess, I only found the CFHS last week, and since then, I've been dropping notes on each introduction post, as I've appreciated getting to know each of you ahead of the big March Blitz! That's interesting you have five siblings!? I'm an only child but everyone I meet tends to think I'm one of five! Go figure!?

Ooh dear,... I misunderstood when we're going to the farmer's market! I'll be back lateron! Oyy.

I wanted to simply say that I loved reading your biographical sketch as it leaked out little bits of your personality! :) It was quite an interesting read, especially how you came to find what you were to do in life,... almost as though each step of the way was one seredipitious stepping stone to another that yielded a journey! I don't blame you on bypassing public speaking! That class terrified me in sixth grade! Laughs. I must've learnt Spanish by osmosis because years upon years later, I am able to come up with a phrase here or there, or make perfect sense out of reading a piece of Spanish, whereupon whilst I studied the language, I couldn't speak or read a lick of it! Oyy. I am envious on one count: you were able to study Physics! Wicked!

I look forward to your monthly posts, and seeing if I can find a few of your books at the library ahead of your giveaways,... as I think I'd like your style! Congratulations on being included in the CFHS!! Cheers!

I've been buried under deadlines and am popping up to catch up on my posts here. I love NCIS and have watched it since the beginning. Ducky is a fabulous character, and I have to admit, i, too, remember him in The Man From UNCLE. Yikes, that was a long time ago.

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